In Part 1 we touched upon the range of the electromagnetic spectrum and the human field of vision within this spectrum. We also covered what appears to be an expansion of this visual field amongst children who seemingly have the ability to see deeper into the UV bandwidth than adults. We found it quite interesting that DMT appears to have a specific affinity for the UV range between 280 and 315 nm being that this falls outside of the perceived human visual spectrum of 390-700 nm.

In this second part, we will continue to discuss some of the endogenous components of the human body that seemingly have affinity for different light spectrums as well as the implications of this. We will also speculate on the type of camera design necessary to effectively capture these hypothetical parallel layers of reality.

(It’s been noted that humans who have experienced Aphakia, the absence of the lens on the eye, have reported the ability to see UV wavelengths. This lens normally filters out UV rays from the visual spectrum. In 2006, the journal Investigative Opthalmology & Visual Science published a study observing humans lens capsule thickness as a function of age. It was verified that the thickness of the lens capsule increased with age. This could provide supporting evidence for the notion that young children have the ability to see within the UV spectrum based on a thinner lens structure. An interesting study within this specific field would be in regards to measuring changes in the eye lens of a person during endogenously induced altered states of consciousness as well as from exogenous substances. A 2016 study published in the French Journal of Opthalmology observed significant changes in eye lens thickness based on the inducement of pupil dilation with tropicamide 1%. Whether this could provide additional framework for capturing “entities” will be discussed later in this piece.)

There have been numerous studies showcasing the antagonistic effects of blue light exposure in regards to melatonin production. In 2010, the International Journal of Endocrinology would publish a study comparing the effects of blue light and red light on the generation of melatonin. The results concluded that blue light suppressed melatonin while red light had no negative effect. In 2012, the Journal of Athletic Training would publish a study regarding the effect of 30 minutes of red light spectrum exposure on sleep quality and melatonin secretion. The study found that there was a marked increase of both sleep quality and melatonin levels from exposure to this spectrum. A 2003 study in the Journal of Pineal Research would observe that melatonin modulates the light spectrum action of cell adhesion significantly in the infrared region (760-840 nm).

Melatonin’s seeming affinity/interaction with the infrared spectrum is interesting based on the fact that there lies the possibility that increased levels of this hormone in the brain might allow for visual acuity above the 700 nm level. We must remain cognizant that during average waking consciousness, the average person secretes very little melatonin while exuding a dominant brain wave known as Beta (on average). A 2014 study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences would observe the mechanisms with which humans can visually perceive the infrared spectrum above the 1000 nm infrared range. This finding appears to provide evidence that humans innately have a 75% wider visual spectrum (390 nm to 1000 nm+) than the accepted standard of 390 nm to 700 nm. In this study, the participants were exposed to 2 hours of darkness prior to the experiment and during the experiment were in an environment of complete blackout for 20 minutes.

I speculate that if the experiment cited above were conducted without the 2 hours of exposure to darkness and without the environment of complete blackout during the visual measurement process, the person’s ability to perceive this IR range would be succinctly altered. Is it that outlandish to presume that changes in the environment can correlate with changes in biochemical/electrical properties of the brain and anatomical changes to the eyes which coincide with visual spectrum enhancement or compression?

What type of visual effects would take place from exposing a person to complete darkness for 4 hours? 40 hours? 140 hours?

In 2013, my friend Dr. Edith Ubuntu Chan underwent an 11-day experience in Thailand known as a “Dark Room Retreat”. The retreat was led by a senior meditation teacher from Australia named Jasmuheen. This process consisted of being in an environment of complete darkness for 9 days and 9 nights with one day of integration prior and post. There is absolutely no light exposure during the process. A few days into the retreat, Dr. Chan experienced the sensations of being able to see outlines of objects such as chairs and the bed in her room.

Dr. Chan: It was a gradual onset, so I don’t remember exactly when it started. I think it was a few days into the retreat that I began to see a fuzzy glow of light around the objects. It was a whitish/grayish light that radiated about a foot from the edge of the bed and chair.

Q4LT: Did that sensation intensify in the following days at all?

Dr. Chan: Yes. All the experiences got stronger and stronger with each day in the dark. The clarity of visions and colors that I experienced were noticeably strongest from days 3 through 9. Some say that it takes 3 days for your melatonin levels to become “saturated”, and after that more interesting visuals and other sensations that’s traditionally related to DMT experiences will manifest. But for me, almost right from the get-go, I experienced powerful, life-changing visions starting from Day 1.

Q4LT: Intriguing! There’s been much speculation that “dark room retreats” upregulate the “Endohuasca” system leading to increased levels of endogenous DMT coinciding with visual “hallucinations”. I find it especially interesting that it seems as though there was clearly a tangible aspect of your visual acuity pertaining to seeing objects in the dark. Were there any other experiences/visions that you experienced alongside this?

Dr. Chan: Yes. From the very beginning I saw interesting geometric patterns. These visuals intensified with each day of the retreat. Usually I need to close my eyes and enter a meditative state to see these patterns with such clarity but during the retreat, the patterns of light and geometric shapes continued whether I had my eyes open or closed. And whether I was consciously “meditating” or not. Often the light patterns got so bright that you could have swore someone opened a window or door and let in the light patterns from the outside!

Q4LT: That sounds like quite an experience. What is it like when the retreat ended and you are exposed to the outside world?

Dr. Chan: Following the 9 days and nights of complete darkness, on the 10th day we go outside during sunset time. We were all given sunglasses to wear until our eyes could adjust to the intensity of the light. It was the most glorious and beautiful thing I ever saw. The magnificence of the color spectrum was surreal. Everything you look at, it’s like watching 8k TV dialing it up the contrast to the max… and then multiply that by 100! That intensity of colors gradually faded back down over the rest of that day, but to this day it never went back to the dullness that I saw before the darkroom. The enhanced color spectrum has stayed enhanced ever since. I still see subtleties in all colors that other people don’t seem to notice.

Q4LT: I can only imagine what that must have been like. Do you find that stress levels effect your color perception at all?

Dr. Chan: That’s a very interesting question! I do know that when I do Wim Hof hyperoxygenation breathing… the colors get more enhanced. When I’m not breathing enough, the color look noticeably more dulled. You know… I rarely feel tired or out-of-breath, but when the colors of the world look duller, that’s how I know I need to breathe. I’ve learned to use it as my barometer.

Would it be completely far-fetched to hypothesize that Dr. Chan’s visual spectrum expanded outside of the “normal” 390-700 nm during her dark room retreat experience? While being able to see the outline of objects in a pitch black environment is a rather tangible example of enhanced visual acuity… seeing geometric patterns and light visions is a bit more difficult to quantify. Nevertheless, observing the physiological changes of extended exposure to controlled darkness seems like a field of study that is ripe for exploration. It seems obvious that the biochemical balance of a person exposed to prolonged darkness would be significantly different compared to the average person living an average life based on the multitude of studies regarding circadian rhythm, melatonin, and sleep.

(In a 2016 interview at Psychedelic Times, Dr. Rick Strassman was asked about the role of endogenous DMT within the human body. He stated, “I like to think of this process as something like a reality thermostat: too much DMT getting into the brain and things become psychedelic; too little and things become flat, dull. One could see endogenous DMT as regulating the “endo-matrix.” I find it quite interesting that Dr. Chan has found that suppressed respiratory function noticeably dulls her perception of color.)

In 1992, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences verified the presence of a mineral known as magnetite in the human brain. In 1992, the journal Bioelectromagnetics Supplement would also publish an article regarding the role of magnetite in human tissues. The significance of magnetite is it’s ferrimagnetic properties which allow it to be attracted to magnets as well as having the potential to become a permanent magnet itself. This would seem quite significant especially as it pertains to fluctuations in electrical oscillatory activity in the brain. In the Bioelectromagnetics Supplement review, the author would state the following in regards to the ferrimagnetic properties of magnetite: “Gram for gram, these properties make magnetite interact over one million times more strongly with external magnetic fields than does any other biological material.”

In 1996, the journal Bioelectromagnetics would publish a review speculating on the biological effects of magnetite’s specific affinity for microwave radiation between 1666 nm and 33,333 nm. A 2007 study in the journal Materials Transactions would observe the optical characteristics of magnetite. It was found that films created with nano-sized magnetite in polyurethane coated on the glass exhibited excellent absorption in the UV-B range (290 to 315 nm).

In 2013, The International Journal of Physical Sciences would publish a study observing the potential effects of magnetite on gamma ray (< 1 picometer) shielding. It was observed that concrete with greater concentrations of magnetite provided remarkably increased shielding effectiveness.

Unfortunately there aren’t any studies regarding magnetite and sleep/circadian rhythms thus far. We hypothesize that there are potential alterations in the properties of magnetite during the sleep/dream state. We find it exceedingly intriguing that magnetite appears to have potential affinity for completely opposite bandwidths of the electromagnetic spectrum. A 2011 write-up in the journal Medical Hypothesis would speculate that magnetite plays a significant role as the main storage system for learned memory in all organisms. This has the possibility of coinciding with the role of sleep in terms of memory consolidation.

A basic study to carry out in regards to the effects of magnetite are in regards to marked changes in EEG states and DC/AC brain measurements coinciding with potential changes in the ferrimagnetic properties of magnetite in the brain and body. Obviously due to the invasive nature of verifying real-time, in vivo aspects of a live brain in a live human would make such studies rather difficult without significant technological advancement.

At this point, it appears as though slow wave dominance (Theta/Delta) has the potentiality to correlate with visual spectrum expansion into the lower frequency/longer wavelengths such as the infrared range (and potentially beyond based on magnetite’s affinity for microwave waves). This slower wave measurement via EEG coincides with a more positive frontal potential when utilizing DC measurement.

(Brain DC Current image from "The Body Electric”and a 128-channel EEG below. Both measure bioelectrical changes that correlate with changes in consciousness but the output data point is the difference.)

Based on what’s been presented thus far it also appears that it’s possible that faster waves (Gamma) correlate with increased visual spectrum expansion into the UV range (and potentially beyond based on magnetite’s affinity for gamma ray absorption). This would correlate with an increased negative frontal potential when utilizing DC measurement. Like we covered in the past, since the frontal potential of the brain cannot be both negative and positive at the same exact moment, there lies the possibility of an extremely fast and wide oscillation taking place during dream sleep compared to normal waking consciousness. I speculate that for the average adult during their average waking state… they experience a fluctuation between light Alpha and High Beta activity coinciding with the visual spectrum between (390 nm to 700 nm). A more pronounced fluctuation between light Theta and Low Gamma activity might coincide with an expanded visual spectrum of 300 to 1000 with a more extreme fluctuation (Low Delta & Ultra-High Gamma) expanding the visual spectrum even further. Amplitude of these waves would also play a role in terms of their visual effects alongside their frequency. During “dream sleep” there appears to be a “coupling” of both slow and fast waves which would appear to coincide with a rapid change of strongly negative and strongly positive electrical fluctuations in the brain.

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is a region of the brain located in the hypothalamus situated directly above the optic chiasm (a part of the brain where the optic nerves cross). The SCN is considered to be the master oscillator in the brain playing a key role in the regulation of circadian rhythm.

In the piece “Telepathic Training Wheels”, we cited the mechanisms of wireless charging as proposed by the company WiTricity. The following description was provided in regards to the mechanisms: “A rapidly oscillating electric current is applied to a coil at a specific resonant frequency. This creates a magnetic field in the region around the coil. Tune a second coil to the same resonant frequency as the source and it will couple resonating anywhere within that region and converting the oscillating magnetic field into an electrical current within the second coil. This response is called highly coupled magnetic resonance.”

These are the mechanisms that appear to potentially overlap with successful transference of images/information via telepathy. In 2003, the journal Nature Neuroscience, would measure the changes in SCN activity during REM and Non-REM sleep. It was observed that the electrical activity of the SCN increased significantly during REM compared to Non-REM. This electrical activity during REM also surpassed that of waking consciousness as well (slightly). This leads us to believe that there is an increase in the speed of oscillations during REM sleep that also coincides with the dream state. Simultaneously this increase in oscillation speeds could generate an expansion of the person’s magnetic field that isn’t necessarily separate from "dream state” perceptions. There also lies the potentiality that psychedelic compounds alter SCN activity quite markedly but we’ve only come across a 2010 cannabis study showing excitation of the SCN following administration.

In the piece titled, “Headscratcher from Tryptamine Palace” we presented a case in which the author (of “Tryptamine Palace”), James Oroc witnessed an overlap in perception of a 5-MEO-DMT experience and a sober witness. To summarize the piece, Oroc would ingest 5-MEO and subsequently see a deceased friend during the “breakthrough”. During this process, a sober friend sat across from him and witnessed an apparition of a person appear that virtually replicated what Oroc had seen (a form of telepathy). It would seem that there lies potentiality that there was an altered oscillating current in Oroc’s SCN/Brain from the 5-MEO that increased his magnetic field which subsequently changed the oscillatory activity of his friend’s SCN/Brain which would then cause her to visualize what he was experiencing.

(A recent 2017 study in the journal Scientific Reports observed that during verbal communication amongst two people, their brain waves synchronize with each other. Perhaps a very similar activity takes place during effective telepathic transfer utilizing non-verbal communication? A 2015 study in the Journal of Neuroscience observed that “electric fields are capable of mediating propagation of self-regenerating neural waves” once thought to be confined to synaptic transmission, gap junctions, and diffusion processes.)

In an unrelated yet possibly very related case… “The God Helmet” is a device that utilizes very weak magnetic fields to induce mystical experiences or altered states in human subjects. While it doesn’t necessarily equate to providing validity for mystical experiences, it showcases the ability of external magnetic fields to change perception and likely biochemical/electrical activity.

For much of the past century, scientists believed that the structures known as the rods and cones were the only photoreceptors in the eyes. The amount of light that these photoreceptors were exposed to was thought to be the main influence of circadian rhythm. However, in 1998 a type of photopigment called Melanopsin was discovered in amphibians and a few years later in mammals. Melanopsin is a type of photopigment belonging to a larger family of light-sensitive retinal proteins called opsins. Within humans, this photopigment is found in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) that communicate information directly to the SCN. While melanopsin is also expressed in human cones, it is only a tiny fraction compared to the majority which is found in the peripheral regions of the retina. The human peripheral retina senses light at high intensities that has correlations with the condition known as (Tetrachromacy). In 2014, Popular Science documented a case of an artist named Concetta Antico who is a tetrachromat.

Excerpt from the 2014 piece:Antico doesn’t just perceive these colors because she’s an artist who paints in the impressionist style. She’s also a tetrachromat, which means that she has more receptors in her eyes to absorb color. The difference lies in Antico’s cones, structures in the eyes that are calibrated to absorb particular wavelengths of light and transmit them to the brain. The average person has three cones, which enables him to see about one million colors. But Antico has four cones, so her eyes are capable of picking up dimensions and nuances of color—an estimated 100 million of them—that the average person cannot. “It’s shocking to me how little color people are seeing,” she said.

When light enters the eye, ipRGCs discharge nerve impulses. These neuronal electrical signals travel through neuronal axons to the midbrain. Stimulation of melanopsin contributes to the regulation of behavioral responses to light, such as pupil size and melatonin release from the pineal gland. The ipRGCs in the retina form the retinohypothalamic tract that projects to the SCN.

Based on the latest data, it appears as though melanopsin upregulation/downregulation is integrally intertwined with SCN oscillatory activity. The fact that melanopsin has been observed to coincide with tetrachromacy alludes to the potential for visual spectrum expansion to coincide with circadian rhythm changes. This is especially interesting when taking into account the reports of both exogenous DMT experiencers who describe seeing indescribable color schemes as well as “dark room” experiencers like Dr. Edith Ubuntu Chan who describe similar enhancement of colors.

At this point you might be asking… what do the topics of melatonin, magnetite, cryptochromes (Part 1), magnetoreceptivity, melanopsin, SCN oscillations, dark room retreats, and tetrachromacy have to do with “parallel universes” and camera equipment development?

It is my belief that if we are to begin to postulate the development of equipment to capture parallel universe activity, we must have a proper framework with which to understand how this is perceived through human faculties. Without being cognizant of the complexities of human perception dynamics, it would seem that we would be missing some key pieces in terms of equipmental development. Obviously we’ve only just scratched the surface of physiological fluctuations that take place during moments of perception.

In Part 1, we stated that based on the pupillary changes that were observed during phases of REM sleep as well as from the ingestion of psychedelic substances, that the electrical/biochemical equilibrium of the brain might play a more dominant role in eye/pupillary changes than perceived. A 2014 study published in the journal Psychological Science observed that merely the thought of a light or dark environment could generate pupillary dilation or constriction. This is important in the sense of understanding the mechanisms with which anatomical changes take place. It’s long been believed that external light exposure plays the dominant role to changes in organs of perception… however, understanding that there lies more complexity to this phenomena might provide some insight as to how the proposed “parallel layers” of reality are perceived (and possibly recorded). We must remember that during REM sleep and “breakthrough” DMT experiences… the eyes of a person are closed for the most part. However, this doesn’t halt the occurrence of dreams or visual experiences.

While this wild theory might cross your threshold for speculation… perhaps it is our neural signaling and balance/imbalance that dictates everything that we perceive 100% of the time? Perhaps it is a combination of SCN activity, biochemical release, changing brainwaves, and much more that dictate our perception… or even more wildly… our projection of reality. It could also be a strange combination of perception enhancement and mental projection taking place. Having stated that… I really don’t know what that means in terms of our perception of the “real world” as we know it.

Many technological advances have taken place over the past century allowing scientists to observe electromagnetic frequencies outside of the limitations of the naked human eye (during average states of consciousness). If it were so simple that parallel universes occur in these other frequencies, why haven’t scientists been able to easily observe any activity of these “alternate realities” (at least publicly within mainstream outlets)?